Madame Rose

Madame Rose is a Belgian-style sour ale fermented with wild yeast, aged on sour Michigan cherries in wine barrels for nearly two years.

ABV: 6.7

ABW: 5.33

COLOR: NA

BITTERNESS: 25

ORIGINAL GRAVITY: NA

AVAILABLE: Atlanta, Austin, Boston, Chicago, Denver, New York City and San Francisco

This Madame sports a ruby-red body that is bright and beautiful in the glass. First impressions are of freshly picked cherries, cherry cheesecake and a light, lemony tartness in the nose. An ephemeral effervescence carries these flavors as they mingle with notes of pear, a touch of wood and a slight barnyard funk. As the beer warms in the glass, these flavors reveal themselves more strongly, but Madame Rose ends soft with a tart yet jammy finish that lingers as long on the lips as a first kiss. A beautiful beer.- Lisa Morrison

It’s the color of a well-made Manhattan cocktail, a hazy, red/orange/rusty brown, and raises a thin collar of foam. The aroma is riotous—sour fruit, acetic acid and a barn’s worth of horsey Brett. The palate shows an electric acidity balanced against austere sweetness, a burst of dark fruit and balsamic vinegar in the center and a linear finish that only lifts its foot off the pedal at the last second. It’s a bit too vinegary for me, but many sour fans may not blink an eye at that. It’s way tangy and admirably funky, at least, and would be strangely good with pulled pork.- Garrett Oliver

Lisa MorrisonLisa Morrison, aka the Beer Goddess, talks beer every day at her beer store and taproom, Belmont Station, and on a weekly radio show in her hometown of Portland, OR.

Garrett OliverGarrett Oliver is the brewmaster of The Brooklyn Brewery, the Editor-in-Chief of The Oxford Companion to Beer, the author of The Brewmaster’s Table, and the veteran host of more than 900 beer dinners in 15 countries.